Strategy and Fighting the Fewest Battles

Nothing will have a bigger impact on a contractors business over the next decade than putting in a very rigorous process for strategy development and execution.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

The industry is changing rapidly due to technology, a massive shortage of management talent as well as major trends in project delivery and geographic expansion.  

Leadership Tools: Strategic Planning. A General does not plan how to win every battle; they plan how few battles they need to fight to win the war.

Strategic decisions along with the operating rhythms and the feedback mechanisms that ensure execution are the most highly leveraged decisions in the business. 

This is an area where an experienced 3rd party can add significant value.  Find someone that resonates with your team and has experience relevant to your company.  Change the facilitator every few years for fresh ideas. Unless they are really bad don’t change them every year so you have some continuity.  You might consider overlapping facilitators having the outgoing facilitator sit in on your side of the table providing additional continuity.  

Consider bringing in some of your key customers, vendors and subcontractors as part of your strategic planning process.  Whatever you do; don’t underestimate the value of this process.   

Learn More




Project Delivery - CM Agency or Multi-Prime
Project Owners can minimize the markups for overhead and profit by contracting directly with the specialty contractors and hiring a Construction Management (CM) firm to work as their agent. This project delivery method is called CM Agency or Multi-Prime.
The Sales Funnel (Scope and Key Roles Involved)
Each stage of the sales funnel requires different work to be completed and involvement from different key job roles. These evolve over time with growth and changing markets.
Multipliers for Success at All Levels
As a leader in the construction business, you can think about success in three broad areas.